Why would my dog need extractions?

Broken teeth. Not any broken tooth, but if the break has extended into the pulp of the tooth, that may need to be extracted to alleviate pain or prevent the future formation of an abscess. Severe periodontal disease is arguably the most common thing we see. If you have a tooth that's diseased to that point, it's often much more effective and healthy for the dog to just take that tooth out and not allow it to continue to be a source of chronic infection.

Yes, your dog may need extractions during the dental procedure if the veterinarian finds problematic or painful teeth. Extractions are only performed when the teeth are causing more pain and problems for the dog than if they were removed. Veterinarians do not prefer extractions, but they are often necessary for treating painful dental issues.

Extractions are necessary if there are abscesses, if the tooth is fractured with exposure to the pulp cavity, or if there's bone loss involving one of the roots. Usually, a tooth needs to be extracted if there's more than 50% of bone loss.

Extractions or surgical removal of a tooth is not something that any of us as veterinarians want to do. We will only make that decision if it's in the best interest of your pet. Those reasons for needing an extraction would be pain, infection, or in rare situations, if we're trying to save another tooth that is sometimes a more important tooth from a structural standpoint. When we do perform extractions, those are surgical extractions. It's oral surgery where we make sure that we're providing any pain relief and medication necessary to keep the pet comfortable following that extraction. But in most situations, that tooth has been compromised to the point where we can no longer keep that tooth healthy and it's in the animal's best interest to extract or surgically remove that tooth.